How the #blackhijabichallenge came about and had my phone going off ALL day!

Yesterday started off like any regular Sunday. I had been looking at my twitter feed and the beautiful photos in the #blackhairchallange. I wear hijab full time so I couldn’t participate and was deep in my feelings. This lead to me tweeting about my sadness and desire to be apart of the hashtag.

What came next was a conversation that eventually lead to the #blackhijabichallenge.
@Nerd_Geek_Ninja officially dropped the hashtag that started a wave of Black Muslim joy on my timeline. It immediately took off running. She, myself and @Margari_Aziza began tagging sisters and it skyrocketed from there. My phone has been going off with tags, retweets, likes, and comments ever since. Below are some of the images from that glorious hashtag. Scroll down and get your life.

Besides the glorious amount of melanin that graced my timeline, and there are so many many more sisters I wish I could feature, there was beautiful knowledge being dropped. Such necessary conversations that arose because of the hashtag. Conversations that are normally kept within the black community and aren’t highlighted by others who are not apart of black spaces. For example, one prevalent conversation was the use of khimar in the black community instead of hijab.

This conversation also lead to some wonderful throwback pictures to our history as Black Muslims in America.

What began as my desire to be apart of another hashtag lent it self to something that became much bigger and more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. I have to thank my sister @nerd_geek_ninja for giving a hashtag to the conversation I and @Margari_Aziza were having. Without her giving that hashtag, our conversation may have just ended with us feeling left out of another space. Without that hashtag my phone would be it’s normal dry self. Now, its on permanent silent because of all the love that everyone has shown the hashtag. Too often Black Muslims, especially Black Muslim Women are forgotten about. Our history and stories are erased for Arab and South Asian culture that dominate conversations about Islam in America. Donna Auston @TinyMuslimah tweeted an image that said it the best:

So often we are tole our Islam is not “enough”, that we are not enough. But this hashtag has proven that we are and have always been more than people can handle! Keep slaying my sisters! Much love to you all!